Customer Reviews

Charmed and Dangerous

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Since I was just scanning Amazon to see if there was a new Jane Ashford in the offing (please!), I felt compelled to put my two cents in about this book, considering some other reviews here. Along with some other notables--Elizabeth Thornton, Joan Wolf, Mary Jo Putney, Connie Brockway, and Judith Ivory spring to mind--Jane Ashford writes some of the most interesting, complex and satisfying historical romances around. To each her own, but if you like a little edge to your romance reading, try Jane Ashford.

I really enjoyed this novel. The heroine is as intelligent and insightful as she was described to be; the author relates her character so well that I truly understood her desire to become a spy and finally obtain the chance to shape history. The hero, on the other hand, wasn't as well-fleshed out. The spy plot, developed amidst the Congress of Vienna, was intriguing--the villianess's plans caught me by surprise when they were finally unvealed. I recommend this!

This was the first Jane Ashford book I read and, I think, one of her best. The plot was well laid-out and grabbed me right away. The hero was suitably dashing :), and the heroine (thank god) did not sink into the depths of Romance Heroine Stupidity, a disease that seems to be going around. The exotic locales and espionage make this wonderful escape story. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes Elizabeth Peters, Barbara Michaels, Susan Wiggs, or Lisa Kleypas.

after deciding to take a chance on this previously unheard of (by me) author, i am now resolved to stick with tried & true authors. After an intriguing blurb, i was very disappointed after the initial chapters to find the plot unravelling rapidly, the characters uninteresting and no explanation on how they suddenly fell in love with each other.i couldn't even finish the book for wanting to hurl against the nearest wall.

With luxurious colors and a romantic landscape, the cover was intriguing. What I found inside was rancid. Set in Jane Austen's time, Charmed's "hero" is Gavin Graham. The reader is quickly informed that Gavin sleeps around, I suppose to make him dangerous. Yes, well, during that time period it certainly would make him dangerous--he would have rampant venereal disease and no way to cure it. I don't find this attractive.

As for Laura Devane,I found myself wishing she'd been knifed instead of Gavin. Ashford attempted to make her spunky but she just ends up seeming to have terminal stupidity--making choices that a supposedly intelligent governess wouldn't no matter how starved for true-life adventure she might be. By the time I had read 50 pages, I put this stinker where it belonged--in my bathroom. That seemed a more appropriate place to read it, and that way it was for only 5 to 10 minutes at a time.

I wonder how Jane Ashford managed to get good professional reviews on this porker. She must have good contacts in the business but she'll never get another cent of my money and I no longer trust the opinions of Affaire de Coeur.